Benjamin Sesko celebrated his first start under Michael Carrick with the winner as Man Utd came from behind to beat 10-man Crystal Palace 2-1 and move third for the first time since May 2023.
Sesko's header from Bruno Fernandes' cross was the Slovenian's fourth goal in five games but the encounter ultimately swung on the earlier dismissal of Palace defender Maxence Lacroix 10 minutes into the second half.
The Frenchman was adjudged to have pulled Matheus Cunha back as he entered the box and Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot after an initial hesitation, before the subsequent VAR review compounded the Eagles' misery when Lacroix was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Fernandes duly pulled the hosts level from the spot.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner felt the surroundings may have played a part in the decision, telling Your Site: "It's a very harsh red card, it's usually where the first contact is that where the foul is, and it definitely starts outside the box. "Maybe it's the Old Trafford bonus why the referee decided it was a penalty and red card."
Palace had dominated much of the game up to Fernandes' penalty after taking a fourth-minute lead through Lacroix himself, and though Man Utd had returned from the break the better side they had not tested goalkeeper Dean Henderson before Kavanagh's intervention.
But with that man advantage, they looked certain to continue their upward momentum under Carrick and completed their turnaround only eight minutes after their equaliser through Sesko's fine header.
While extending their unbeaten Premier League run to 11 games Man Utd also lifted themselves back up to third in the table above Aston Villa, with Crystal Palace falling to 15th as Brighton jumped above them by beating Nottingham Forest.
Your Site' Michael Dawson on Super Sunday:
"It's a foul. It's a great ball down the side from Fernandes, Cunha gets away from Lacroix who has his hands on top of him.
"Was it enough for Cunha to go down? Has it continued from outside to inside? You can see his hands still on the top of Cunha's shoulder.
"Whether it's two fingers, a full hand, it's continued. It's a penalty in my opinion.
On the red card: "Is it a denial of a goalscoring opportunity? In my opinion, it is. The minute he gets goal-side and goes down, that's an opportunity for Cunha to score a goal."
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner on Your Site:
"When it's 1-1 and you have a player less for more than half an hour... we had a game three days ago. They could rest the entire week, so of course that affected the game.
"We tried everything but they scored a great header from Sesko. We could've defended better because we had two against him. He attacked the ball, we didn't.
"You can't just allow making mistakes at Old Trafford if you want to get anything. We made too many, two very decisive mistakes. The performance was absolutely okay."
Man Utd head coach Michael Carrick on Your Site:
"I am really happy. It was a test for us going in a goal down at half-time. New for us. We didn't start the game great, credit to Palace they did. We grew into the game as the half went on. Second half we stepped up again.
"It was a big thing to overcome being a goal down at home so early against a team that are tough to break down. It was a big step for us. I was really happy with the way the boys approached that and reacted to it."
On Benjamin Sesko: "Ben is here to score goals and he has done enough of that lately. He is going to be an important player - he already is an important player - and he is going to become even more important as he progresses and improves.
"To get the start today it wasn't a drama, it was a natural decision. Amad coming on and rotating a bit. For Ben to get that goal, that is some really important goals he has scored for us. It was a fantastic header. "
